


Portable Portraits

by LadyLaguna



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 05:24:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16486688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLaguna/pseuds/LadyLaguna
Summary: How did Celes know about that two-sided coin?





	Portable Portraits

The wind was blowing even colder, Edgar thought. It rattled the windows of the Old Man’s house, echoing in the empty rooms.

That idiot, Locke, had put himself directly between Terra and the esper. Not once, but twice. Sheer dumb luck and Celes’s intervention were all that kept him from being thrown from the cliff face. Now he lay unconscious in the room next door, shivering, as Celes kept close watch over him. The fear of frostbite and hypothermia passed quickly, thanks to her vigilance.

Edgar felt the slightest tickle of jealousy. Not because Locke had a devastatingly attractive nurse. No. Because he had done far more to protect Terra in the heat of the moment than Edgar had. All he could do was watch helplessly and scream as she took each step toward that beast. Now another scream, **her** scream, full of terror and anger, was all he could think about.

He leaned against the mantle, watching snow melt in the small cauldron over the fire. Everyone else had left to explore Narshe and help clean up after the battle. To curtail his desire to fidget, Edgar slid his hand into his pocket. There, as always, lay the coin.

Over the last decade, it had been polished to a dull shine by the pad of Edgar’s thumb. It was a reminder to him in times when he forgot to be selfless. What could he have done to save Terra from this fate? What did that monster do to her? Was Banon wrong to ask her to speak with it? Why had he agreed to bring her back here? Had he put the needs of the rebellion above her well being?

What was one girl in comparison to the entire world? Edgar took the coin from his pocket and stared down at it. The needs of many were more important than the needs of one. But the thought of anything happening to Terra made his throat constrict.

“The water’s boiling!”

Startled, Edgar dropped the coin. He rushed to pull the cauldron from the fire as Celes entered the room. “Curses! Apologies, m’lady. I find myself-- distracted.” As he turned to sit the water down on cold stone, Celes fetched the object he lost.

“A trick gil? Interesting.”

The king blanched, straightening to look at her. “Er… yes. It’s a portrait of myself and my brother. From when we were younger. My father always carried it.”

“The former king.”

“Yes. He… when he passed, I snatched it.” For a moment, he watched as Celes studied the tiny embossed faces. “If you please… don’t inform my brother-- ah-- anyone… that I have it.” And then he extended his hand to get it back.

Pursing her lips, she returned it to him. She didn’t ask any more questions and he silently thanked her for it. Instead, she went to the pot of water, hissing as she put a finger near its surface. A quiet murmur and soon frost was creeping up the sides of the vessel, calming the liquid from its simmer.

“I appreciate this,” Edgar said, in an attempt to change the subject. “If our dear comrade lost any of those sticky fingers, I fear he may go mad.”

“I owe him,” Celes replied, flatly and without sentiment. But Edgar knew better. He saw the way she looked at him when she thought nobody was paying attention: like a puzzle she desperately wanted to solve.

The same way Edgar looked at Terra.

“Chere. If I may ask… did you know Terra when you were both in Vector? I saw you speaking to her.”

Not looking up from her task, Celes answered, “I knew _of_ her. I didn’t know about the crown… I… we were afraid of her. She was strange and distant. We thought her a monster, perhaps.”

Brow furrowing, Edgar said, “No, she’s not… she’s… she’s bright and sweet and confused and frightened…”

He was rambling. Celes finally looked up at him, her eyes just a bit more warm. “We’ll find her. I owe her, too.” She could finally touch the water. She ladled it into a smaller bowl and dropped a rag into it. “He’s beginning to stir. I think he’ll wake up soon.”

“Good,” Edgar said. “We’ll strike out as soon as he’s able.” He would settle for no less, they both knew. Celes acknowledged this with a nod, and turned to leave the room.

He put the coin back in his pocket, and sighed.


End file.
